Perhaps the relative speeds _are_ different enough to cause damage. As I said, that's what the experts have to figure out.

The same issue arises in consideration of the airplane that supposedly shoots itself down by firing its guns, then diving under the bullet trajectory and picking up speed, then overtaking and getting hit by its own bullets. Is it a true story, or apocryphal? Anyone know the status of that phenomenon? I'd almost sooner believe it inhaled it's own (relatively slowly-moving) bullets and fouled its turbines.